Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a waiver on Tuesday exempting “life-saving humanitarian assistance” from President Trump’s executive order pausing nearly all foreign aid during a period of

Exemptions include humanitarian assistance such as core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and subsistence assistance

Officials inside and outside of the US government are grappling with the fallout of the Trump administration’s sudden suspension of almost all foreign aid with some humanitarian officials warning that people will die as a result.

Move from the US, which is the world’s biggest donor, will make exceptions for emergency food and military funding for Israel and Egypt

Secretary of State Marco Rubio backtracked on Trump’s near-total foreign aid freeze and approved potentially billions of dollars in “life-saving humanitarian assistance.” Many aid groups are still unsure what that means.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a waiver on Tuesday for life-saving humanitarian assistance during a 90-day pause in foreign aid while Washington undertakes a review, according to a State Department memo seen by Reuters.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has backpedalled on the near-total freeze of US foreign aid, stating that ‘life-saving humanitarian assistance’ would be continued during the 90-day review period. There is widespread uncertainty about which programmes fall under the new waiver among global and South African health organisations.